Laundry souring composition and method



Patented Mar. 15, 1932 ROBERT A. PKAIB, OF ALLENDALIl, NEW JERSEY,ASSIGNOR TO H. KOHNSTAMM & INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LAUNDRY SOURING COMPOSITION AND METHOD No Drawing.

In laundering clothes, the work is generally soured after washing withthe usual soaps and alkalies. Without such souring the fabrics are aptto retain some of the alkali and g to become yellow on ironing. The souris added to neutralize the alkali and thus whiten the fabric. If toolittle sour is used the goods on subsequent ironing will not beperfectly white. If too much sour is used the laun- 10 dered fabric isapt to have a harsh feeling. It is important to prevent this and toprevent the waste of sour. But no means have been available to thelaundryman to determine, at the time he adds, the sour, whether he has16 added too much or too little.

I propose to use a souring composition which includes besides the souran ingredient which indicates the proper acidity of the wash water bythe color of the latter. Thus the 20 laundryman can see when he hasadded enough sour.

I propose also to secure an additional advantageby using as the colorindicator a blue. This is mixed with the sour in such proportions thatit will not only turn the wash water blue when all the alkali has beenneutralized, but will also blue the clothes to the -'proper blue-whitecolor. A suitable blue for this purpose is what is known in the colorindustry as rosaniline blue. The rosanilines are derived from thehydrocarbon, triphenylmethane, and are of various colors. The blue istriphenylrosaniline hydrochloride, produced by heating rosaniline withaniline and a weak acid whereby the aminogronps in the rosaniline arereplaced by ani- 11118 groups. In the trade, the rosaniline blue thusderived is not used directly. The commercial rosaniline blues are thesodiumsalts of sulphonic acids of this product. Such salts are alsocalled water blues and soluble blues. These salts are, for examplejthesodium di sulphonate or trisulphonate of the triphenyl, rosaniline blue.A suitable sour is sodium silicofluoride or other silicofiuorides. Of

. Application filed Apri1'.19,

1929. Serial No. 356,605. a

course some of the color is absorbed by the fabric and colors thelatter. But this is only the efiect which ordinary blues have and is notthat of a dye. The blue is only one per cent of the mixture, and onlyfour to six ounces of the mixture are used for two hundred and fiftypounds of work, and merely enough to show that the water is acid.

An example of a specific composition is a mixture of sodiumsilicofluoride and rosaniline blue in the ratio of about one hundred toone. The mixture can be made by dissolving the rosaniline blue or otherindicator, mixing it with the silicofluoride or other acid formlng saltused as a sour, and then 0 drying the whole.

Or a portion of the sour may be mixed with the indicator and dried, andthe remainder of the sour added dry and-mixed with the'firs t batch. Theproduct is a dry composition with the particles so coarse as not to bedusty. It can, therefore, be added to the goods or to the water withoutcausing the spots of blue which occur sometimes with the use of theordinary'bluing.-

For a load of two hundred and fifty pounds of work properly rinsed, fourto six ounces of the specific composition above added dry on the wheelwill generally serve to both sour and blue the clothes properly. The

operator will. however, be guided by the color indication. Underalkaline conditions in the wash water rosaniline blues show practicallyno blue color. When enough has been added to render the water acid, the"color of the rosaniline blue is developed, indicating to the washmanthat he has added enough to put the goods on the acid side which isnecessary to get proper results.

Various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the invention as defined in the following claims.

1. A laundry souring composition including a silicofluoride and ananiline blue.

2. A laundry sourin composition including sodium sihcofluori e androsaniline blue in the ratio of about one hundred to one.

3. In laundering fabrics the method which consists in washing them andadding to the wash water a mixture of sodium silicofluoride and ananiline blue.

4. In laundering fabrics the method which consists in washing them andadding to the wash water a mixture of about one hundred parts of sodiumsilicofluoride and one part of rosaniline blue.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

ROBERT A. FHA.

